HTC One M8 now allows you to publish interactive photos

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One of the big features included in the HTC One M8 is the Duo Camera’s unique ability to create some interesting photos effects. Until today, the only person who could see the process leading up to your finished product was you. Now, the HTC Gallery app allows you to publish interactive photos to the web, allowing anyone to play around with your photos.

Easily the coolest thing to come from the Lytro camera was the ability to adjust your focal point in real time, well after the photo had been taken. For years we have wanted that technology in our smartphones, but technical limitations have made it so all we have are a handful of apps that allow us to adjust the blur. While this can make some photos look really nice, it’s just not the same. HTC has stepped up their Duo Camera game with an update to their gallery app, and the end results are undeniably cool.

After you take a photo on the One M8, you can edit it and apply one of several effects. The Ufocus feature, for instance, allows you to choose where in the photo you are focused based on the depth information captured by the special rear camera combo. HTC does this in one shot, whereas most others require multiple photos and a lot of time to accomplish similar results. The update to the Gallery now makes it easier to adjust the level of blur you see in the photos as you edit them. It also gives you the ability to send a link of your photo to someone on the web. This is where things get fun.

As you can see in the above photo, you can click around and adjust the focus as though you were using the One M8 that took it. In fact, this process actually feels a lot smoother than the Ufocus part of the Gallery app in some ways. This photo is a part of my Google Drive account now, using HTC’s web interface to allow friends and family in on the action. It’s a cool addition to the service, and something many thought would be part of the One M8 launch. So if you’re rocking a One M8, be sure to check it out as soon as the Gallery update hits your phone.